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(Course is offered for 3 OR 5 units.) How did empires and nation-states evolve around the globe during the modern period? How did they shape global experiences of modernity? And how can one write a history of the entire world, so as to cover the necessary ground, but also preserve nuance and complexity? In this course we will use graphic novels (paired with archival sources and historical essays) to examine modern world history from the 18th to the 21st century, from the age of empires and revolutions, through the World Wars, the Cold War, and the War on Terror. The class is appropriate for beginning students, non-majors, and more advanced history students, and may be taken for different levels of credit.

Ideas matter. Concepts such as equality, tradition, and Hell have inspired social movements, shaped political systems, and dramatically influenced the lives of individuals. Others, like race and urban renewal, play an important role in contemporary debates in the United States. All of these ideas are contested, and they have a real power to change lives, for better and for worse. In this one-unit class we will examine these "dangerous" ideas. Each week, a faculty member from a different department in the humanities and arts will explore a concept that has shaped human experience across time and space.

Oceans cover two thirds of the world's surface and play a vital role in global carbon storage, biodiversity, and food stocks. But who owns the oceans and their resources? And what rights and duties do countries, corporations, and individuals have at sea? In this course, we will examine histories of commercial fishing and whaling, nuclear testing, seabed mining, human rights at sea, and sea-level rise as avenues for understanding developments in international law over the course of the 20th century.

What does it mean to start a country, or to acquire and possess sovereignty over a territory? This course will examine the historical evolution of fundamental concepts in our international system: state formation, statehood, and sovereignty. Each week will spotlight a case-study in which sovereignty and statehood have appeared greatly confused and hotly contested. These include: the UK-China lease for control of Hong Kong; the US Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay; the corporate state of the legendary British East India Company; and Disney World.

(Same as HISTORY 110C. 10C is for 3 units; 110C is for 5 units.) From the late 18th century to the present. How Europeans responded to rapid social changes caused by political upheaval, industrialization, and modernization. How the experience and legacy of imperialism and colonialism both influenced European society and put in motion a process of globalization that continues to shape international politics today.

Epic traditions, the call to crusade, public curses, music of the troubadours and trouveres: this course examines oral tradition and music--the "viral media" of pre-modern Europe--while tracing the impact of new recording technologies: manuscript production, early musical notation, and book production. The course will emphasize close reading of original sources, and students will hone skills in learning to place documents in their wider social, political, economic, religious contexts. Students are expected to attend lectures and discussion sections, and to participate actively in the latter. Weekly readings range from 50-100 pages. But even when readings are short, don't be fooled! You're expected to read carefully and, like a medieval monk or nun, to ruminate--to chew on and digest--the text.

This course explores the period of Stalin's rule in the Soviet Union from 1928 until 1953 and focuses on what the Russians called "the repressions." This includes, the war against the kulaks, the Ukrainian famine (Holodomor), the operations against the nationalities, the Great Terror, the deportation of the "punished peoples," the expansion of the Gulag (prison camp system), the Leningrad Affair, and the Doctors' Plot. The origins of these events are still controversial, as are their impact on the development of the Soviet Union. Scholars also continue to argue about the numbers of deaths involved. Students will discuss the arguments about Stalin's crimes using newly available documents, memoirs, literary sources, and other materials. We will visit the Hoover Archives, view the poster and film collection there, and discuss the period with archivists. Viewing films and documentaries, we will also reconstruct the lives of the people faced with the daily threat of denunciations and arrest. "Life has become better comrades; living has become happier..." was an often repeated slogan during the period of Stalin's terror. We will examine how that slogan translated into reality.

What is resistance and what did it entail in Nazi-occupied Europe? What prompted some to resist, while others accommodated or actively collaborated with the occupiers? How have postwar societies remembered their resistance movements and collaborationists? This seminar examines how Europeans responded to the Nazi order during World War II. We will explore experiences under occupation; dilemmas the subject peoples faced; the range of resistance motivations, goals, activities, and strategies; and postwar memorialization. Select cases from Western, Eastern, and Mediterranean Europe.

"It was a town of red brick, or of brick that would have been red if the smoke and ashes had allowed it." So begins Charles Dickens description of Coketown in Hard Times. And it only seems to get more grim from there. But the world that Dickens sought to portray in the novel was a hopeful one, too. And that tension is our starting point. The intent of this class is to more closely examine mid-Victorian Britain in light of Dickens' novel, with particular focus on the rise of some of our modern social movements in the 19th century. While things like the labor movement, abolitionism, feminism, and environmentalism, are not the same now as they were then, this class will explore the argument that the 21st century is still, in some ways, working out 19th century problems and questions. At the same time, this is also a course that seeks to expand the kinds of sources we traditionally use as historians. Thus, while recognizing that literary sources are particularly complex, we will use Hard Times as a guide to our exploration to this fascinating era. We will seek both to better understand this complex, transitional time and to assess the accuracy of Dickens' depictions of socio-political life.Through a combination of short response papers, creative Victorian projects (such as sending a hand-written letter to a classmate), and a final paper/project, this course will give you the opportunity to learn more about the 19th century and the value of being historically minded.As a seminar based course, discussion amongst members of the class is vital. All students are welcome